One of the Golden Phoenix's biggest obstacles - the same ones faced by the Flamingo Hilton, Reno Hilton and Sahara Reno, the hotels previously occupying that space - was the absence of a parking garage. You simply have to be able to offer your customers covered parking in downtown Reno, and the Golden Phoenix couldn't (or wouldn't) do it.

That aside, I've always liked the place, although I'm not surprised it didn't make it. I was in there once on a Saturday night, playing craps, and one of the dealers said to me, "You could shoot a cannon through the middle of this casino right now and not hit anybody." He was right.